Jersey Jack Guarnieri with JJP’s Jen DiCosmo and Toy Story 4 designer Pat Lawlor. Explained Guarnieri, “Pat and his team wanted to focus on Toy Story 4 because it provided the best assets – especially the best video assets.”
Toy Story 4: A Pinball Years in the Making
Jersey Jack Pinball released its highly-anticipated new game – Toy Story 4 – on June 14. Licensed from Disney and Pixar, the machine has been in the works for a long time.
“We got the license several years ago,” explained company founder Jack Guarnieri, who added that the release of the movie Toy Story 4 was pushed back about a year and a half.
Because of that, the company’s designer on this project, Pat Lawlor, instead went to work on their Willy Wonka pinball and then later, restarted on the Toy Story machine. “It’s never a straight road with the pinball business – just like the game itself.”
Toy Story 4 is available in limited runs of two models. Or, at least it was. The 1,000 units of the Collector’s Edition sold out quickly. Some of the 5,000 units of the Limited Edition are still available.
“This is the first time we had a new game where we had maybe 30-40 of them went on location within the first week,” Guarnieri said. “They seem to be all over the place on social media as well.”
In the game, players can delve into the world of Toy Story with the voices of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, Duke Caboom and many other favorite toys. The journey is accompanied by an original soundtrack that includes a special rendition of Randy Newman’s song You’ve Got a Friend in Me.
Players can send the silverball flying off the Duke Caboom jump ramp, blast into the jet bumpers to collect a super jackpot in “Buzz Multiball” and aim for the stand-up targets to light Rescue Forky.
They can hurry up and bash Gabby Gabby into a pinball frenzy on the way to scoring Grand Champion and take a chance on the spinning wheel to earn different awards like Extra Ball, Tiki Party, Super Loops and more. They can also start interactive carnival games like Star Adventurer, Dragon Zone, Squirrel Derby, and Flipball on the 10” playfield frame display.
In addition to the pinball action, a feature of the machine is a digital photo booth that takes pictures while you play. It also comes with Bluetooth for wireless listening and wifi connectivity for over-the-air software updates. The competitive pinball platform and social network Scorbit is also included in the package.
“Toy Story is beloved and treasured by families all over the world,” Guarnieri said. “We’re thrilled to bring this excitement to pinball with an amazing game for all generations. With this collaboration, we’re able to create unique, modern pinball machines for players of all ages and experience.
“I’m proud that this is the first time that the Toy Story license has been used in our industry,” he told RePlay. “It’s humbling.”
Learn more about the game at www.jerseyjackpinball.com.
